Does this scenario sound familiar? You carved the perfect Halloween pumpkin. You bought one of those intricate Halloween pumpkin carving patterns. You spent hours on it. Too bad your work of art was devoured last night by hungry squirrels. Maybe squirrels destroyed your child’s first Jack-O-Lantern. Is there any way to stop squirrels from eating Halloween pumpkins and Jack-O-Lanterns?
Get a dog. This isn’t a cruel statement. Since my daughter and her three small dogs came to live with us, squirrels have been scarce in our yard. We used to have droves of them. Seems they smell the dogs and just stay away. That’s good news for the rest of garden too. This year most of our harvest is actually ripening and being eaten by people.
Preserve your Jack-O-Lanterns. Want your carved pumpkins to last longer? Spray them with acrylic sealer. Not only does it keep them from wilting, it keeps the squirrels from eating them. Like most animals, they stay away from undesirable scents. Don’t spray any pumpkins you wish to eat later. Acrylic spray is non-toxic, but not exactly edible.
Cover your Halloween pumpkins. Before the dogs arrived , we used inverted buckets to hide our Halloween pumpkins from squirrels. I imagine we’ll revert to that practice once my daughter has found a place of her own. Of course, you can also keep pumpkins inside until Halloween. It’s not exactly practical but it is 100% effective.
Covering pumpkins doesn’t always keep squirrels from eating them. They’re clever little things. If you don’t weigh those covers down, they will find a way to overturn them. Try placing bricks on top of the buckets as squirrel deterrent covers. They might be smart enough to overturn them, but they lack the strength.
Patience is a virtue. Sometimes procrastination pays off too. Try carving Jack-O-Lanterns at the last minute on Halloween. This way at least you only have to fend off the squirrels for a few hours. This is a good practice even if you’re not trying to stop squirrels from eating your pumpkins. That is unless you’re fond of wilting, caved in, puckered Jack-O-Lanterns. Carving pumpkins seems more celebratory on Halloween anyway.
More from Jaipi:
Natural Methods to Keep Squirrels Out of the Garden
Do Your Halloween Treats Pass Parent Inpection?
How to Use Halloween Pumpkin Carving Patterns